First Real Attempt At Watercooling -- Advice Needed

[MiRai]

Update 12/28/15 -- Post #58:

Alright, so the build has taken much longer than I had anticipated (and it's still not done). There were plenty of, we'll call them, mistakes that were made in the last two months, but in the end, I went with the following parts:

CPU Block - Watercool Heatkiller IV Pro
Radiator - Hardware Labs Black Ice SR2 Multiport 360mm
Pump/Reservoir - XSPC D5 Photon 170 Reservoir/Pump Combo
Misc - 1/2" OD Tubing / Bitspower Fittings (Barbs)

I had originally purchased 3/4" OD tubing with Bitspower compression fittings, but I just couldn't thread the compression "nut" onto the fitting itself after the tubing was in place without an unreal amount of force. I was very unhappy about that, so I switched everything up to barb fittings, and dropped the size of the tubing down a bit because I felt that the 3/4" OD was quite massive; the final shipment of tubing and fittings should be here on Wednesday. Based upon what has happened with everything so far, I can only assume that there will be additional problems once I finally have water in the system and am testing for leaks, like vibration or... something else. I will say that this was quite a learning experience and, if the water can actually keep the CPU at an acceptable temperature while it is overclocked, then I will likely do it again in the future, however, if/when I do it again, I'll be using a much more conventional chassis.

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------------------------ Everything below this line is from the original post back in October ------------------------
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I want to finally delve into the world of water cooling, and my first attempt (hardly a first attempt) failed since the parts wouldn't fit in my chassis. I've got an In Win S-Frame, and I attempted to mount the Swiftech X20-320 Elite AIO kit into it, but the radiator was too long and the side with the fillport conflicted when mounting. So, not only do I have to sell off that setup since PerformancePCs won't take it back, I'd like to try something a bit more custom.

Here is a drawing of how I think things should be laid out (radiator in diagram has been switched out; see parts list below):

Here is a list of parts that I'd like to purchase tomorrow (list updated 6PM EDT):

Parts List w/ Links:
--------------------
CPU Block
Radiator
Pump/Res
Fittings
Tubing
Silver Plug (Necessary?)


Here are some things to add:
-------------------------------

• I cannot mount the radiator anywhere else in the chassis.
• I do understand that I am pulling the hot air off of the radiator and blowing it across all of my components, but I think this is best beacuse:
  • It's not an actual case, but an open air chassis.
  • I'd like to keep the airflow going in the same direction all throughout (GPUs are mounted vertically and blow out of the top).
  • I'd rather not suck the hot air from the GPUs and blow it over the radiator that I'm trying to cool.
• I'm pretty sure that I'll be using 1/2" ID 3/4" OD tubing.
• I'll be using clear liquid since I've read that's best, and my tubing will be colored to match my build.

Here are my questions:
-------------------------
1) Is PrimoChill/PrimoFlex a good choice for tubing?
2) Barbs, compression fittings, or quick disconnect fittings?
3) PerformancePCs lets me choose which fittings I'd like on a piece when buying it. Two of the pieces (CPU block/Radiator) are Switftech, so they will be using the same fittings, but the pump/res combo will be using XSPC fittings. Should I go ahead and grab two more Swiftech fittings to use on the XPSC pump/res so that all the fittings match?
4) Is the liquid I have in the image above a good choice? How much should I be getting? (Res is 410ml (~14oz) + radiator + cpu block + tubing + extra just in case).
5) Is there an easy way to drain this proposed setup?
6) Any suggestions on pieces you might change? And why?

------------Additional Questions Updated 6PM EDT------------
7) I may be missing it, but are there any mixed metals in anything listed above?
8) Do I need any rubber washers or thread tape for the fittings?
9) Fans? I have three of the Cooler Master JetFlo, and three of the Corsair SP120 HP. They both have good static pressure, so I guess it's up to me to test this out myself unless someone has any input on either set.
10) How exactly am I filling this loop? I understand that I'll be filling the reservoir, but with what? A turkey baster? Is something like that going to introduce impurities into the water loop?
11) Should I be looking at 90 degree fittings to perhaps relieve some pressure/tension off of the fittings themselves?
12) Is there anything I'm missing? Rubber mounting things for suppressing noise? Additional plugs or fittings?

I'll be ordering all of this sometime tomorrow morning, so I've got until then to make any changes.

Thanks!

 

[Kenmitch]

Huge savings by just using distilled water and a silver coil. Depending on local availability it goes for about a $1 or so per gallon.

http://www.performance-pcs.com/mayhems-silver-coil-99-999-pure-fine-silver.html

Fittings are more for looks in the end so it's more of a budget decision.

Drain? Wouldn't have to do it very often I'd think. If it's an option you'd want maybe look for a different radiator. Some will have multiple spots for fittings so you could just use one of the plugged off ones for a drain.

This one is just an example so you'll see what I'm talking about as far as the xtra ports for fittings.

http://www.performance-pcs.com/new-xspc-ex360-multiport-series-copper-triple-fan-radiator.html

If it was me I'd probably look for a thicker one as it would allow more overhead as far as cooling goes. You could add gpu(s) in later to the loop if you so desire. Might be better spending xtra bucks today rather than having to tear apart the whole loop and purchase a thicker radiator at a later date.

I'm sure others will pop in and help ya! I need to get out of this thread as looking at all the parts makes me want to go real water again!

Should be an interesting adventure for you. Just need to shop wisely and keep it visually appealing as you have an open case. You can google for many images of water cooling for your setup. Probably best to do that and see what looks nice to you before you order anything.

 

[Aikouka]

When something doesn't fit, you usually have two options... replace the stuff with other stuff that does fit, or replace whatever you're putting the stuff into. In other words, you could also consider getting a new case, and it might be cheaper.

 

[Kenmitch]

When something doesn't fit, you usually have two options... replace the stuff with other stuff that does fit, or replace whatever you're putting the stuff into. In other words, you could also consider getting a new case, and it might be cheaper.

Did you even look to see what case he has?

Pretty sweet looking when dolled up. Can't see why OP would even considering ditching it.

I doubt the OP is going to go all out with water cooling but should look nice when done.

 

[MiRai]

Huge savings by just using distilled water and a silver coil. Depending on local availability it goes for about a $1 or so per gallon.

http://www.performance-pcs.com/mayhems-silver-coil-99-999-pure-fine-silver.html

Okay. That will save me $50-$90. I wasn't sure if those special water cooling fluids had something in them I didn't know about.

Fittings are more for looks in the end so it's more of a budget decision.

I figured as much, but when browsing EK's site, they give a disclaimer stating that they "only guarantee compatibility for connectors bought on their website." Seeing that just made me wonder if it was okay to mix certain manufacturer fittings with different manufacturer pieces of WC equipment. I would guess that as long as I'm sticking with proven names in the industry, and all of them use G1/4, that everything should be fine.

Drain? Wouldn't have to do it very often I'd think. If it's an option you'd want maybe look for a different radiator. Some will have multiple spots for fittings so you could just use one of the plugged off ones for a drain.

This one is just an example so you'll see what I'm talking about as far as the xtra ports for fittings.

http://www.performance-pcs.com/new-xspc-ex360-multiport-series-copper-triple-fan-radiator.html

If it was me I'd probably look for a thicker one as it would allow more overhead as far as cooling goes. You could add gpu(s) in later to the loop if you so desire. Might be better spending xtra bucks today rather than having to tear apart the whole loop and purchase a thicker radiator at a later date.

Good call on the thicker radiator with more ports... I like that idea and I'm looking through some of them right now. I have the vertical clearance, so it shouldn't be an issue.

I wouldn't mind adding in the GPUs into the loop at a later date, but not right now seeing as this is my first attempt at this. That and the added fact that getting three full-cover blocks (with backplates probably) will add another $400+ to the water cooling budget, which I can't do right now.

As for draining, I thought I read that I'd have to flush the loop? I don't know if I'm supposed to be flushing the loop before it's all mounted, or afterward, but either way I think I'd like to plan ahead for an easy way to drain it if I need to. I was thinking of maybe a 90 degree fitting on a multi-port radiator that points downward and has a removable plug. Does that sound reasonable?

Should be an interesting adventure for you. Just need to shop wisely and keep it visually appealing as you have an open case. You can google for many images of water cooling for your setup. Probably best to do that and see what looks nice to you before you order anything.

You told me to just go DIY in the prior thread, and I was really unsure of what I was even getting into, but after the original order came and I could see, and hold the pieces, it became much more clear how this all works, and how easy this may actually be. (fingers crossed, not trying to jinx myself >_>)

As for Googling, it's been non-stop Googling for the past week. One of the reasons I chose the pump/res combo is because I saw it used in another S-Frame build, but I'm not entirely clear on how it's mounted. Mounting the pump/res is the one thing I'm afraid of not fitting or lining up, because while there are holes drilled into the chassis specifically for mounting a pump or reservoir, I'm just not sure if they're going to line up all nice. If they don't, then it's back to the drawing board on how to get it to stay there. /shrug

When something doesn't fit, you usually have two options... replace the stuff with other stuff that does fit, or replace whatever you're putting the stuff into. In other words, you could also consider getting a new case, and it might be cheaper.

As Kenmitch said above, it's not really an option to switch out the case at this point. I've built plenty of computers throughout the years, but they've never been all that flashy. With this build I'm looking to add a bit of "flash" to it, and everything I've done up to this point has been done with the mindset that this is the chassis I'm building with.

You are right, though. I could technically keep the Apogee Drive that came with the prior AIO kit I purchased, but I'm more comfortable with trying to re-sell that kit as it is (completely unused) rather than use one piece from it, and then piece out the rest.


I will replace the list of parts above (specifically, the radiator) in a bit with perhaps some additional questions. Thanks for the feedback, so far!

 

[Kenmitch]

It's best to flush the new components before you put the loop together. Pretty simple really. All you really need to do is make sure there isn't anything left over from the manufacturing process inside the components. A fitting, piece of hose and distilled water and a funnel is all you need. Just attach hose to inlet or outlet and flush it with distilled water. Radiator will probably be the most difficult to make sure it's clean inside. Probably want to fill it up, shake it around, etc.

D5 Photon 170 reservoir combo? XSPC website shows the mounting bracket bolt spacing.

http://www.xs-pc.com/water-pumps/d5-photon-170-reservoirpump-combo

Does look like the mount is flat and rather large. Seems the use of industrial strength Velcro is pretty common for mounting them. I'd imagine you could at least get one or possibly two of the pre-drilled bolt holes to line up if needed for xtra support.

Just got to take your time putting the loop together as in the end it's really easy.

 

[MiRai]

I've updated the original post with some additional questions, as well as the parts list and new radiator. The original Swiftech radiator I had chosen was only 34mm, and the new Hardware Labs is 60mm. I have about 5" (~127mm) of clearance before I touch the GPUs, so a 60mm radiator and a 25mm fan should leave me plenty of space.

It's going to be a tight fit on the left-hand side again, though, but I think it's do-able. I have a little over 1" (~25mm) of clearance on the left, but I think there's only about 3/4" of radiator because of the shroud on it. People have also mentioned that these Black Ice radiators are a little wider at 155mm, but again, I think I'll be okay as long as that doesn't affect where the screw holes are.

It's best to flush the new components before you put the loop together. Pretty simple really. All you really need to do is make sure there isn't anything left over from the manufacturing process inside the components. A fitting, piece of hose and distilled water and a funnel is all you need. Just attach hose to inlet or outlet and flush it with distilled water. Radiator will probably be the most difficult to make sure it's clean inside. Probably want to fill it up, shake it around, etc.

Alright. I wasn't sure if there was something other than just putting some water through them (and then shaking them around) that I needed to do. I've read that some people use warm soapy water to rinse things out, but I think that might've been when someone was trying to get dye out of a system. Also, according to Aigo's stickied threads in this forum, I shouldn't be using vinegar (not that I was going to since I have access to distilled water).

D5 Photon 170 reservoir combo? XSPC website shows the mounting bracket bolt spacing.

http://www.xs-pc.com/water-pumps/d5-photon-170-reservoirpump-combo

Does look like the mount is flat and rather large. Seems the use of industrial strength Velcro is pretty common for mounting them. I'd imagine you could at least get one or possibly two of the pre-drilled bolt holes to line up if needed for xtra support.

Oh, that's good to know. PerformancePCs doesn't show that diagram on the product page. Unfortunately, it looks as if the holes are about 1" (26mm) apart, which doesn't match up with the pre-drilled holes in my chassis which are about 3" apart. I guess this means I can use one hole for a screw, and then like you say, some Velcro (I'm guessing I can find some at Home Depot).

This is all getting exciting (and expensive).

 

[drcc]

Hello mirai how are you importing the products? Also look for the frozenq reservoir it have t virus cathode tube lights looks great. I've searched and found that photon reservoirs have limited ports which can cause problem in ur loop routing.

 

[MiRai]

Hello mirai how are you importing the products?

I'm not importing products, per se. I live in the US, and I'm ordering from the US.

Also look for the frozenq reservoir it have t virus cathode tube lights looks great.

It looks nice, but I'd like to to stick with the pump/res combo I have picked out unless there's something drastically wrong with it.

I've searched and found that photon reservoirs have limited ports which can cause problem in ur loop routing.

Can you elaborate on that?

 

[drcc]

It have 1 fill port on top and no other connections. And in and out port directly from the pump downside. So chances are the coolant may paas directly from the pump bypassing the reservoir. Other than that its great combo. Watch the ransaunot or dazmod review of photon 270 on youtube.

 

[drcc]

Why dont you go with ek pumpres combo .. ?

 

[Kenmitch]

The pump/results combo will be fine. I think what he's referring to is it only has one inlet and outlet. Could pose a problem with hose routing. Looking at your hose routing diagram and the sample image I posted I'm not 100% you'll be able to get away without any angled connectors. You don't want to kink any hoses and I'm sure you want it visually pleasing. Pump to radiator hose may pose a problem visually at least without angled connectors. You'll have to make the judgement call once you have your stuff. Depending on pump placement a 45/90 degree on outlet and 90 degree on inlet to radiator may be best option. Would allow that hose to run along the inner side of the radiator using the radiator port closes to the motherboard. This would also help with hose going to cpu block lessening the chance of excessive bending. Would probably also look cleaner if you used 45 degree in and out of the cpu block.

Amazon does have a lot of water cooling stuff in case you didn't check. In my area a lot of items are available for free same day delivery with prime. Guess it helps as warehouse is a couple miles from me with another one 35 or so away. Price wise pretty much similar. Might want to make a mental note in case you need fittings later.

Yep I spent a couple hours looking around at water cooling stuff. On vacation this week so it was a bordome buster

Filling up the loop thru the fill port on the resevoir is easy. Attach a xtra piece of hose to the fill port using a barb or compression fitting and use a funnel that fits snugly in the hose. You don't want to run the pump dry which I'm sure you've already read. You'll want to get as much water in the loop as possible before you even power up the pump. I'm thinking water will flow through the pump due to gravity. Been a while so not 100% sure. Easy to check as you could just poor some water in the resevoir and see if it runs out the outlet. Of course you'd do this away from your rig with your thumb sealing the inlet port. Things can get messy during this process. If it flows fine then what I'd do is build the loop completely with one exception which is leaving the inlet hose to cpu block off temporarily. If your paranoid about water back feeding thru pump inlet thru cpu inlet you could put a temp hose from cpu inlet pointing away from your rig. Place the hose that goes to the cpu inlet away from your rig just in case and start filling the resevoir. Might take a while to fill it up depending on gravity flow. You'll be able to at least fill most of the loop this way as water is nature's level. Poor in slowly if needed you'll have water from the top point in resevoir to the same point in the hose. At this point just wipe hose if needed and attach to cpu block. I'm sure you've already researched a lot but might save some time and possible pump damage just in case. Xtra power supply that is jumped and has a switch on it would be best from here for the bleeding and leak testing. Just don't let the pump run dry. Burbank action could get messy so caution when filling would be advised.

Water level http://www.deckmagazine.com/tools-and-equipment/making-and-using-a-water-level.aspx

1st saw this on Tree house masters....Them dudes make some crazy tree houses!

Post pictures when done.

 

[MiRai]

It have 1 fill port on top and no other connections. And in and out port directly from the pump downside. So chances are the coolant may paas directly from the pump bypassing the reservoir. Other than that its great combo. Watch the ransaunot or dazmod review of photon 270 on youtube.

Why dont you go with ek pumpres combo .. ?

XSPC shows that there are two inlets on the pump/res, and one outlet, but I do understand what you mean about bypassing the reservoir. However, the EK pump/res has the same setup as the Photon, as well as one less inlet (not like it's a big deal in my current setup. The EK res is also a bit smaller, and doesn't have the fancy LED like the XSPC res.

The pump/results combo will be fine. I think what he's referring to is it only has one inlet and outlet. Could pose a problem with hose routing. Looking at your hose routing diagram and the sample image I posted I'm not 100% you'll be able to get away without any angled connectors. You don't want to kink any hoses and I'm sure you want it visually pleasing. Pump to radiator hose may pose a problem visually at least without angled connectors. You'll have to make the judgement call once you have your stuff. Depending on pump placement a 45/90 degree on outlet and 90 degree on inlet to radiator may be best option. Would allow that hose to run along the inner side of the radiator using the radiator port closes to the motherboard. This would also help with hose going to cpu block lessening the chance of excessive bending. Would probably also look cleaner if you used 45 degree in and out of the cpu block.

It's funny that you mention this now, because this morning I opened up this same thread over on overclock.net, and I've already decided to change out the fittings for 60 degree rotary, and triple rotary 90 degree Bitspower fittings.

Amazon does have a lot of water cooling stuff in case you didn't check. In my area a lot of items are available for free same day delivery with prime. Guess it helps as warehouse is a couple miles from me with another one 35 or so away. Price wise pretty much similar. Might want to make a mental note in case you need fittings later.

I only checked for the radiator, but I will look to see if they have anything else for cheaper than PerformancePCs, since I do have Prime, as well.

Filling up the loop thru the fill port on the resevoir is easy. Attach a xtra piece of hose to the fill port using a barb or compression fitting and use a funnel that fits snugly in the hose. You don't want to run the pump dry which I'm sure you've already read. You'll want to get as much water in the loop as possible before you even power up the pump. I'm thinking water will flow through the pump due to gravity. Been a while so not 100% sure. Easy to check as you could just poor some water in the resevoir and see if it runs out the outlet. Of course you'd do this away from your rig with your thumb sealing the inlet port. Things can get messy during this process. If it flows fine then what I'd do is build the loop completely with one exception which is leaving the inlet hose to cpu block off temporarily. If your paranoid about water back feeding thru pump inlet thru cpu inlet you could put a temp hose from cpu inlet pointing away from your rig. Place the hose that goes to the cpu inlet away from your rig just in case and start filling the resevoir. Might take a while to fill it up depending on gravity flow. You'll be able to at least fill most of the loop this way as water is nature's level. Poor in slowly if needed you'll have water from the top point in resevoir to the same point in the hose. At this point just wipe hose if needed and attach to cpu block. I'm sure you've already researched a lot but might save some time and possible pump damage just in case. Xtra power supply that is jumped and has a switch on it would be best from here for the bleeding and leak testing. Just don't let the pump run dry.

Gotcha. Yeah, I've definitely read plenty of times to not let the pump run dry, but if gravity wants to help me out when filling the loop I'll take advantage of that.

Post pictures when done.

There will actually be a video about the build/setup which will include everything. I'll post a link whenever it's all done (closer to the end of the month or start of next month).


The latest questions I asked on the other forum were:

1) The Swiftech compression fittings that I originally had selected have a nut on them in order to tighten them down, but I'm not seeing this type of setup on any other fitting. Is it expected that using my fingers to tighten down these other fittings will be sufficient in order to allow for a good seal and prevent leaks?

2) Also, are these rotary fittings more susceptible to leaking?

 

[Kenmitch]

XSPC shows that there are two inlets on the pump/res, and one outlet, but I do understand what you mean about bypassing the reservoir. However, the EK pump/res has the same setup as the Photon, as well as one less inlet (not like it's a big deal in my current setup. The EK res is also a bit smaller, and doesn't have the fancy LED like the XSPC res.


It's funny that you mention this now, because this morning I opened up this same thread over on overclock.net, and I've already decided to change out the fittings for 60 degree rotary, and triple rotary 90 degree Bitspower fittings.


I only checked for the radiator, but I will look to see if they have anything else for cheaper than PerformancePCs, since I do have Prime, as well.


Gotcha. Yeah, I've definitely read plenty of times to not let the pump run dry, but if gravity wants to help me out when filling the loop I'll take advantage of that.


There will actually be a video about the build/setup which will include everything. I'll post a link whenever it's all done (closer to the end of the month or start of next month).


The latest questions I asked on the other forum were:

1) The Swiftech compression fittings that I originally had selected have a nut on them in order to tighten them down, but I'm not seeing this type of setup on any other fitting. Is it expected that using my fingers to tighten down these other fittings will be sufficient in order to allow for a good seal and prevent leaks?

2) Also, are these rotary fittings more susceptible to leaking?

Your case does deserve some bling so the fancy fittings would be best I'd imagine. Guess the money saved on using distilled water will offset the cost of fittings somewhat. Price of fittings can add up rather quickly but I'm pretty sure you already found that out.

Fittings are sealed with O-rings. Making them super tight with a wrench doesn't really help. When I was doing DIY water cooling I just used barbs and just used a short piece of hose to snuggly tighten them. You don't want to shove the short piece of hose all the way down on the fitting as it'll grab when barely pushed on....At least on barb fittings. I've never tried compression fittings yet as they were pretty expensive back then.

I've seen others that require a tool. There is a seller on Amazon that has a lot of water cooling stuff along with fittings. Titan Rig is the name of them. They have some interesting looking fittings made by Monsoon which requires a tool that is included. All there stuff is same day delivery for me. As of this post if I ordered from them in the next 2hrs I would get it today.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_hi_1?me=A3GO5VFCNOM5I7&rh=i:merchant-items&ie=UTF8&qid=1444841470

Didn't really do any extensive price comparison with the above vs performancePCS as the same day delivery option for me sure beats coast to coast ground shipping!

Might go DIY water again pretty soon. Just have this nasty habit of building rigs and getting bored with them. Back in the DIY water days I would just do cpu/mb swaps to satisfy the crave. Still gotta sale my 4690k rig that's collecting dust. Currently sporting a 4790k at 4.7GHz that I built a couple months ago. Slight craving to try a 6700k out but doesn't really look like much of a performance gain.

 

[MrTeal]

Fittings are sealed with O-rings. Making them super tight with a wrench doesn't really help. When I was doing DIY water cooling I just used barbs and just used a short piece of hose to snuggly tighten them. You don't want to shove the short piece of hose all the way down on the fitting as it'll grab when barely pushed on....At least on barb fittings. I've never tried compression fittings yet as they were pretty expensive back then.

The one caveat I'd add to that is if you don't tighten the fittings really snugly, you need to be very careful when you're routing your tubing as you can actually put a decent bit of torque on your fittings if it is twisted during routing. I usually torque the fittings on using a wrench, and am just careful to not use too much force when the fitting is in to acrylic.

 

[MiRai]

So, I think I figured out the fittings, as well as a drain valve for near the bottom. It's incredible how much those Bitspower rotary fittings cost, and I really hope it was worth it in the end.

All the parts are ordered, and if PerformancPCs can get my custom ordered stuff shipped by tomorrow, then hopefully everything will be here by Saturday. Otherwise, it'll be a long weekend.

Your case does deserve some bling so the fancy fittings would be best I'd imagine. Guess the money saved on using distilled water will offset the cost of fittings somewhat. Price of fittings can add up rather quickly but I'm pretty sure you already found that out.

Yeah, I don't even want to think about it anymore now that the parts have been ordered.

I've seen others that require a tool. There is a seller on Amazon that has a lot of water cooling stuff along with fittings. Titan Rig is the name of them. They have some interesting looking fittings made by Monsoon which requires a tool that is included. All there stuff is same day delivery for me. As of this post if I ordered from them in the next 2hrs I would get it today.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_hi_1?me=A3GO5VFCNOM5I7&rh=i:merchant-items&ie=UTF8&qid=1444841470

Didn't really do any extensive price comparison with the above vs performancePCS as the same day delivery option for me sure beats coast to coast ground shipping!

They didn't have everything in stock like PerformancePCs did, but I did some price checks and they were really close. Several of the fittings that TR had in stock came in like packs of four, which overall made them more expensive since I didn't need multiples of four, and the offset to weight/shipping from PPCs didn't really make it worth it to order from two different places. That and the added fact that I can get two-day USPS shipping from PPCs for just regular cost since I'm also on the eastern side of the map.

Might go DIY water again pretty soon. Just have this nasty habit of building rigs and getting bored with them. Back in the DIY water days I would just do cpu/mb swaps to satisfy the crave. Still gotta sale my 4690k rig that's collecting dust. Currently sporting a 4790k at 4.7GHz that I built a couple months ago. Slight craving to try a 6700k out but doesn't really look like much of a performance gain.

I hear ya. It was a tough choice to make moving from the 4930K to the 5960X since I needed the cores, but the only real option was Intel's top-of-the-line CPU (which I've never bothered to pay for in the past). I'm not going to pretend like it wasn't some bit of a waste, but it could end up even worse if I can't get a nice overclock out of the CPU, and the 4930K @ 4.4GHz on air might have still been better than a dud-overclocker 5960X on water. =\

The one caveat I'd add to that is if you don't tighten the fittings really snugly, you need to be very careful when you're routing your tubing as you can actually put a decent bit of torque on your fittings if it is twisted during routing. I usually torque the fittings on using a wrench, and am just careful to not use too much force when the fitting is in to acrylic.

I think all the fittings are going to be metal on metal, except for maybe the pump which might be plastic/acryllic. I'll make sure to double-check the fittings after running the tubing and before turning anything on, because you're absolutely right, especially with these rotary fittings that are able to swivel/spin around 360 degrees.

 

[Kenmitch]

I hear ya. It was a tough choice to make moving from the 4930K to the 5960X since I needed the cores, but the only real option was Intel's top-of-the-line CPU (which I've never bothered to pay for in the past). I'm not going to pretend like it wasn't some bit of a waste, but it could end up even worse if I can't get a nice overclock out of the CPU, and the 4930K @ 4.4GHz on air might have still been better than a dud-overclocker 5960X on water. =\

That's a beastly cpu! And you were debating fittings.

What's your realistic goal? One always hopes for the golden chip.....During your buying decision at some point you thought something like " As long as it makes it to 4.?GHZ it'll be worth it....More cores baby! "

 

[moonbogg]

OP, I recently did my first loop with the help of people here. Looks like you have everything figured out already. I flushed my radiators by running tap water through them, shaking around and letting the water shift, and then dumping the water in a bowl to see if anything came out. Stuff did come out. Little flakes and pieces of material came out. That's stuff you don't want trapped in your CPU block. I rinsed and flushed them with distilled water when I was done.
I'll link you to my thread below incase you want to read through it. It details the planning of a full loop. I knew nothing and there are a lot of questions that were asked and answered in there so it might be a good reference for you.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2434615

 

[MiRai]

That's a beastly cpu! And you were debating fittings.

Haha - I'm already looking at rigid tubing for when I add in the GPUs. >_>

What's your realistic goal? One always hopes for the golden chip.....During your buying decision at some point you thought something like " As long as it makes it to 4.?GHZ it'll be worth it....More cores baby! "

I would be happy with 4GHz, and seeing as 3.5GHz is its turbo, I don't think an extra 500MHz will be all that difficult to achieve. Like you said, of course we all want that golden chip with low voltage at 4.4GHz or more.

OP, I recently did my first loop with the help of people here. Looks like you have everything figured out already. I flushed my radiators by running tap water through them, shaking around and letting the water shift, and then dumping the water in a bowl to see if anything came out. Stuff did come out. Little flakes and pieces of material came out. That's stuff you don't want trapped in your CPU block. I rinsed and flushed them with distilled water when I was done.
I'll link you to my thread below incase you want to read through it. It details the planning of a full loop. I knew nothing and there are a lot of questions that were asked and answered in there so it might be a good reference for you.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2434615

Very cool, thanks.

 

[Kenmitch]

Haha - I'm already looking at rigid tubing for when I add in the GPUs. >_>


I would be happy with 4GHz, and seeing as 3.5GHz is its turbo, I don't think an extra 500MHz will be all that difficult to achieve. Like you said, of course we all want that golden chip with low voltage at 4.4GHz or more.


Very cool, thanks.

I doubt you'll be disappointed then.

Guess it depends on what you consider low voltage in the end.

Did you see this review from Tom's Retail boxed with 5 cpu's tested?

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overclocking-retail-intel-core-i7-5960x-cpu,4237.html

Good luck on the adventure!

 

[aigomorla]

DO NOT GET SILVER FROM ANY WATERCOOLING STORE.

AGAIN... DO NOT GET SILVER FROM ANY WATERCOOLING STORE.

Do not trust the purity of it, because there has been a LOT of bad batches of impure silver flooded on the market.

unless the store actually buys the pure silver sheets, and cuts them themselves do not trust silver from any store.

if you would like to use silver, get a 99.9999999% pure silver sheet and cut it into a coil.

most of the vendors who have voided warrenty because of silver have done so because of the bad batches which were flooded.

Sterling Silver is NOT PURE silver.


instead use a antimicrob additive, if you do not wish to go the route of purchasing the silver sheet yourself, or look for an original "iandh Silver coil"
That is the ONLY brand i will trust.

 

[guskline]

My 5960x below is rock solid running Asus RealBench at 4.4Ghz with ram at 2133. Some push theirs higher but mine is at 1.33 vcore watercooled and is a decent overclock from stock of 3.0 while running very cool.

 

[YBS1]

I hear ya. It was a tough choice to make moving from the 4930K to the 5960X since I needed the cores, but the only real option was Intel's top-of-the-line CPU (which I've never bothered to pay for in the past). I'm not going to pretend like it wasn't some bit of a waste, but it could end up even worse if I can't get a nice overclock out of the CPU, and the 4930K @ 4.4GHz on air might have still been better than a dud-overclocker 5960X on water. =\

Between 4.1 and 4.2 will be faster per core than your 4930K@4.4Ghz. I doubt you'll have too much trouble pulling off 4.2GHz. My daily 4.5 overclock is roughly on par per core with my 3930K at it's balls to the wall 5.1GHz bench setting. Depending upon the particular test of course.

 

[YBS1]

Haha - I'm already looking at rigid tubing for when I add in the GPUs. >_>

Unless you are doing rigid tubing throughout, I wouldn't worry with it for just the GPUs. I went with these. They worked out very nice. Bitspower also makes them, but I couldn't find a single place that had them in the length I needed in white, so the Swiftechs got the nod (much less expensive).

http://www.swiftech.com/connectors.aspx

 

[guskline]

Unless you are doing rigid tubing throughout, I wouldn't worry with it for just the GPUs. I went with these. They worked out very nice. Bitspower also makes them, but I couldn't find a single place that had them in the length I needed in white, so the Swiftechs got the nod (much less expensive).

http://www.swiftech.com/connectors.aspx

I agree with YBS1 in the connector. I use the same type between my 2 R9 290s with EK blocks and it works great. Much easier than trying to cut EXACT sizes and hoping they fit.